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A10 WORLD NEWS
Friday 7 February 2020
Amnesty finds Saudi anti-terror court a weapon of repression

By AYA BATRAWY Amnesty also said that
Associated Press the government's rhetoric
DUBAI, United Arab Emir- about reforms under the
ates (AP) — Saudi Arabia crown prince stands in stark
has used a secretive court contrast to reality in the
established to try terror- kingdom where women's
ism cases as "a weapon rights activists and dozens
of repression" to imprison of perceived critics of the
peaceful critics, activ- young prince remain impris-
ists, journalists, clerics and oned or face trial on vague
minority Muslim Shiites, in- charges related to national
cluding some who were security. Some, like reform-
sentenced to death and ist cleric Salman al-Awda,
executed, Amnesty Inter- face the death penalty in
national said Thursday. trials before the court.
The London-based rights or- Prince Mohammed faced
ganization examined court intense international scruti-
documents and spoke to ny after the killing of Wash-
activists and lawyers for ington Post columnist Ja-
its 53-page report, which mal Khashoggi inside the
sheds light on the secretive Saudi Consulate in Istanbul
proceedings of the Spe- in 2018. A Saudi criminal
cialized Criminal Court. court sentenced five to
The report found that tri- death for the killing, but did
als before the court were not hold any high-ranking
"a mockery of justice" and officials responsible.
its judges "willing accom- In this Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020, photo, women carry their shopping bags past a banner showing Under the rule of his father,
Saudi King Salman and his Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, left, outside a mall in Jiddah,
plices" in suppressing those Saudi Arabia. King Salman, the crown
who dare speak up. Associated Press prince has consolidated
Established in 2008 to try state security-related pow-
terror-related crimes, the Amnesty said some of the "disseminating false infor- to cultivate," said Heba Mo- ers, giving expansive pow-
court started trying critics common charges in pro- mation to foreign groups" rayef, Amnesty's Mideast ers to the newly-estab-
of the government in 2011 ceedings included "dis- — crimes that can hinge on and North Africa regional lished Public Prosecution
under broadly worded obeying the ruler" of Saudi speaking to human rights director. She said the gov- and Presidency of the State
counter-terrorism laws that Arabia, "questioning the groups or the use of social ernment has used the spe- Security, both of which re-
criminalize acts such as in- integrity" of officials, "seek- media. cial court "to create a false port directly to the king, to
sulting King Salman and the ing to disrupt security and "Our research gives lie to aura of legality around its arrest, investigate, interro-
crown prince, Mohammed inciting disorder by calling the shiny new reformist im- abuse of the counter-terror gate and refer individuals
bin Salman. for demonstrations" and age Saudi Arabia is trying law to silence its critics." to the anti-terror court. q

Architect of U.S. peace plan

blames Palestinians for violence

"was surprised with how you can drive from the top Jan. 28, envisions a disjoint-
good the plan was for the to the bottom," but it is still ed Palestinian state that
Palestinian people, but he possible. turns over key parts of the
locked himself into a posi- He said the most construc- West Bank to Israel, siding
tion" by rejecting it before it tive thing the Palestinians with Israel on key conten-
came out. Abbas is putting can do is to sit down with tious issues including bor-
forward old talking points the Israelis and go over the ders and the status of Je-
when the situation on plan "line by line." rusalem and Jewish settle-
the ground has changed "If they would like to meet, ments.
and "this may be the last we're happy to do it, but The Palestinians seek all of
Palestinian protesters hurl stones towards Israeli soldiers during
clashes in the West Bank city of Hebron, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. chance to resolve the situ- we're not going to chase the West Bank and east Je-
Associated Press ation," Kushner said. them," Kushner said. rusalem — areas captured
He told a small group of He called his meeting with by Israel in the 1967 Mid-
By EDITH M. LEDERER week. journalists after briefing the the Security Council "very east war — for an indepen-
Associated Press Jared Kushner, the son-in- U.N. Security Council over constructive," with lots of dent state and the removal
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — law and adviser to Presi- lunch at the U.S. Mission to questions. of many of the more than
The chief architect of the dent Donald Trump who the United Nations that the Kushner said he and his 700,000 Israeli settlers from
U.S. blueprint to resolve the spent nearly three years U.S. proposal may be the team will follow up with the these areas.
decades-old conflict be- working on the plan, said last chance because the establishment of a commis- But under terms of the
tween Israelis and Palestin- leaders who are ready for a rate of expansion of Israeli sion to draw up a detailed "peace vision" that Kush-
ians on Thursday blamed state "don't call for days of settlements may preclude map and meetings with Eu- ner oversaw, all Israeli set-
Palestinian President Mah- rage and encourage their a contiguous Palestinian ropean and Middle Eastern tlers would remain in place,
moud Abbas for soaring people to pursue violence state. countries to further explain and Israel would retain sov-
tensions and violence in if they're not getting what Right now, Kushner said, "it's the plan. ereignty over all of its settle-
the occupied West Bank they want." very, very difficult to have The U.S. plan, unveiled by ments as well as the strate-
since the plan's release last He said he thinks Abbas a contiguous state where President Donald Trump on gic Jordan Valley.q